Conventional ultrasound imaging systems have interchangeable transducer probes which are suitable for different applications. The transducer family may, for example, consist of four types of transducers: phased array, linear, convex and specialty (i.e., transducers designed for imaging specific body parts). Each transducer probe is coupled to a respective port of the ultrasound imaging system via a coaxial cable and a transducer connector. The transducer connectors are interchangeable in the sense that each connector can be plugged into any port. The console of the system is also conventionally provided with a set of yokes for holding the respective transducers when they are not being used. This set of yokes is typically placed on the side of the main unit or under the operator console of the main unit.
Each transducer probe is designed for a specific application. Depending on the desired application, the appropriate probe must be connected and activated before it can be used to scan the anatomy of interest. If four different transducer probes are plugged into the console, the user must select one of the four for the scanning operation.
Previous implementations of transducer selection require the user of the machine to select or activate one of the connector ports and thereby energize the transducer connected thereto by pressing a button or key. The specified probe then begins to image in response to that selection. The user must pick up the transducer from its holder either before or after selecting it via the button or key in order to apply it to the patient and actually begin scanning.
The foregoing implementation requires the user to know which transducer is connected to which port and then press the appropriate key corresponding to the picked-up transducer. When an operator wishes to use a particular probe on a multi-probe imaging unit, usually the operator must trace the transducer probe to its particular connector via the coaxial cable in order to determine which port the transducer connector is connected to. Thus, there is a need for a transducer activation scheme which allows the user to activate a desired transducer by the simple act of picking up the transducer.